Deep Intellect – Inside the mind of the octopus

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A WEEK AFTER I LAST VISITED ATHENA, I was shocked to receive this e-mail from Scott Dowd: Sorry to write with some sad news. Athena appears to be in her final days, or even hours. She will live on, though, through your conveyance. Later that same day, Dowd wrote to tell me that she had died. To my surprise, I found myself in tears.

Why such sorrow? I had understood from the start that octopuses dont live very long. I also knew that while Athena did seem to recognize me, I was not by any means her special friend. But she was very significant to me, both as an individual and as a representative from her octopodan world. She had given me a great gift: a deeper understanding of what it means to think, to feel, and to know. I was eager to meet more of her kind.

And so, it was with some excitement that I read this e-mail from Dowd a few weeks later: There is a young pup octopus headed to Boston from the Pacific Northwest. Come shake hands (x8) when you can.
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